US2685198A - Fuel efficiency indicator - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 3, 1954 J. E. SAUL, SR

FUEL EFFIC IENCY INDICATOR Filed Feb. 27, 1953 dill! INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE FUEL EFFICIENCY INDICATOR John E. Saul, Sin, South Orange, N. J assignor to Howard W. Saul, Paramus, N. J.

Application February 27, 1953, Serial No. 339,214

5 Claims. 1

This invention relates to measuring instruments more particularly to an instrument for measurement of actual against normal or desired fuel consumption, thereby providing a visual aid for accurately checking the efiiciency of performance of the motor in operation.

The invention may be applied to a motor with out making any alteration in the motor itself,

r may be built into the control panel associated with said motor, or may be made as a portable unit for rapid connection to the motor to be tested. lhe instrument may be mounted, for exam le, on a test console to be used by maintenance and servicemen as a rapid method of determining fuel efficiency without making fuel line connections. It avoids objections present in other types of meters-for example, fiowmeters, which are costly and necessitate breaking into the fuel line, adding resista -oc to the flow plus creating danger of leakage. Further, in the flowmeter type of instrument, there is no standard for corn parison.

In the instrument of this invention, efficiency of performance is indicated by a needle movable, responsive to actual fuel consumption, across a scale bearing calibrated markings indicating normal or desired power output for fuel consumption for given periods of time of actual operation of the motor.

Thus, the scale, indicates normal fuel consumption, may be calibrated for example to bear percentage or units of fuel consumption markings, so that, by observing the position of the needle on that scale one may readily determine the degree to which the actual fuel consumption of the vehicle corresponds with the desired or normal uel consumption.

The invention is designed to further provide a relatively foolproof measuring instrument which may be built in as original equipment, may be installed as supplementary or extra equipment, or used as a testing unit separate and apart from the motor apparatus.

The instrument provides a rapid and accurate means for indicating that there is something amiss in the system, thereby preventing a situation of progressive deterioration of inemciency from continuing to a time when serious damage may result. Thus the instrument will provide an important preventative, indicating potential trouble practically as soon as the source thereof is initiated.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of a measuring instrument embodying the invention,

2 is a front elevational view thereof, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l,

3 is a similar (but fragmentary) view, showing the scale bearing the calibration markings for indicating normal fuel consumption in percentage units as distinguished from whole unit markings shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. i is an enlarged fragmentary view, taken on line -:i of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, the instrument of my invention may be contained within the housing is of any suitable outline, provided with a movable scale ll having markings thereon such as, for example, quantity markings i2-l3 (Fig. 2) which might, for example, be calibrated to indicate normal power output for one complete rotation of scale ll-for example, miles per gallon, or the percentage of normal power output for one complete rotation of scale 5!, as shown at lil, Fig. 3. Scale ll may be driven in one direction, as, for example, counterclockwise, by means such as the gear means it, 55 connected to a time-int rval works such as it. Timer 1%, in turn, would preferably be connected to the electrical circuit controlling the motor whose fuel consumption is to be measured, by any suitable means such as the cable I'l, whereby the timer l6 would be energized only at such times as the motor to be tested by scale H is likewise energiaecl. Marl ings such as O39 on scale l i may be used to indicate, for example, the normal or estimated power output for a given time interval of operation of the motori'or example, for a 2hour interval of time under normal operating conditions. Instead of the power output markings 0-30 (which might mean miles per gallon) the scale 2 I may have percentage markings, such as, for example, fragmentarily shown at l8i in Fig. 3, to indicate percentages of normal output for consumption of units of fuel during the time interval of rotation scale H. Thus, for example, if the scale H in Fig. 2 is calibrated to indicate a rate of 30 miles or other output units for the fuel consumed during one complete rotation of the scale ii for the predetermined time interval, then the percentage markings 18-19 of Fig. 3 would indicate percentagewise efficiency of operation, likewise reflected by the quantity of fuel consumed during the passage of that time interval, as presently more fully explained.

The markings 12-43, I8-i9, or the like on scale i! in the instrument of my invention, are of the following significance:

A fuel quantity rotor hub 26 is provided and rotated responsive to the consumption of fuel by the motor, preferably in the same direction as scale Ii. Hub 2% is part of the electrical system connected to the fuel tank of the motor to be tested, as by the wires from terminals 2?, 23, said terminals being also connected to the balance coil wires 29, so that, as fuel is progressively consumed by the motor, hub will be correspon ingly rotated (in the same direction as scale !l).

The term'mals 2t, 23 are preferably cut into the electrical circuit for the motor so that when the latter is closed, the electrical connection between the terminals 27, 23 and the fuel tank will be completed. However, it will be appreciated that there may be a lapse of time between the completion of the electrical circuit and actual operation of the motor. A fuel consumption needle is provided, to be rotated responsive to fuel consumption, as, for example, by providing an extended end 35 on the hub 2% which has friction sliding contact with the shaft 3'! of needle 3%.

Pursuant to invention, there is also provided means for disengaging the shaft ill of needle 35 from hub end 36. As shown in Fig. 4, the means may be such to normally hold the needle 35 disengaged from hub end 35. In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 4, this means comprises a bearing ii} secured to the free end of spring 4i whose other end is fixed to a stationary part such as the top of electromagnet is. The bearing is is adapted to reciprocate responsive to the spring iii in an open housing 53 positioned on electromagnet ii. The lower end it of the needle may be pointed, the bearing 46 being preferably correspondingly recessed, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the needle may rotate unimpaired on the non-rotatable bearing 49. The shaft 3? of the needle is preferably made of metal so that the lower end thereof will be attracted to electromagnet 412 when connected to the circuit for the motor by wires d5, Gt. A further feature of the inven tion is the energizing of electromagnet 52 only during actual operation of the motor. To that end, wires it, to are preferably connected to a vacuum-actuated switch or solenoid which is actuated responsive to a vacuum force exerted by the operating motor; any other mechanism operative only on actual operation of the motor may be interposed between the electromagnet 32 and the motor circuit, whereby electromagnet 62 will be energized only when the motor is in actual operation. as a result of such arrangement, needle shaft 311' will be drawn downwardly against the tension of the sprin ll and to the approxi mate position of the parts shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and only when the motor is in actual operation. Otherwise, when electromagnet i2 is not energized, spring ll will urge the needle 31 away from electromagnet 32 so that the free 7 upper end ill of the needle 35 will impinge against stop member 58, preventing rotation of needle 35 during rotation of rotor 25. By this arrangement, for example, when the rotor 25 rotates, for example, on filling the fuel tank, or on shutting of the motor, fuel consumption needle 35 will be held against rotation.

In the particular form of the scale ii shown in Figs. 2 and 3, there are color marking bands l2, l3 on said scale (red and green for example) which would indicate, if the needle 35 were in the red region iii, that the rate of fuel consumption was too great, whereas, if it were in the "green section it, that would indicate that the rate of fuel consumption was good. This would provide a broad spot check on scale i i. Where percentage scale markings, such as shown at It-ls in Fig. 3, are used, the position of needle 35 immediately indicates a rate of percentage of efficiency of the motor from a fuel consumption standpoint. If the markings l2i3 of scale i l of 2 are calculated on units of output per units of fuel consumed, as, for example, miles per gallon of fuel consumed, the observer may readily note the rate of yield of miles per gallon as marked by fuel consumption needle 35 on time interval scale ii at any time during the 360 degree rotation of the scale 5 i.

It will be noted that scale 8 i rotates responsive to time periods of operation of the fuel-consuming motor being measured-for example, counterclockwise. Needle 35 rotates in the same direction responsive to fuel consumption in the fuel tank as reflected by rotation of hub 2'8 driving needle 35 in one direction only. The needle 35 is held against the stop 58 responsive to action of spring di and inactivity of electromagnet 52 while the fuel consuming motor is not operated-for example, while the fuel reservoir is being refilled. Thus rotation of hub clockwise, i. e., counter to its direction of rotation responsive to fuel consumption, in reflecting the fuel refilling operation, would not correspondingly rotate needle 35. The same objective is attained by the delay in releasing needle 35 from hub 58 until the motor is in actual operation as reflected by electrical connections Q5, to a switch operated only by actual operation of the motor. In place of unidirectional means iil, ii, 58, hub 26 and needle 35 may have other uni-directional driving means as will be apparent from the present description of the invention, such other forms shall be deemed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The stop 33 may be secured to a reset knob 49 so that fuel consumption needle 35 may be reset the user from time to time; housing id may be provided with a transparent face 59 to facilitate reading the instrument there through. Tim r motor iii may be provided with a reset such as 55.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the instrument of this invention may be manufactured in many different forms.

In using the instrument, the fuel consumption needle 35 may, for example, be initially set so as to register that marking on scale H, which indicates average rate of unit output efficiency as reflected in the fuel consumption of the motor in question. Scale ii may be marked as predetermined for the purpose. As the scale i l rotates responsive to passage of time, if the fuel consumption needle 35 keeps pace with that rotation responsive to r tor hub 25 rotating synchronously with or more slowly than scale H as the fuel is concur. ed at the average rate, the observer would note that consumption is normal. On the other hand, if the needle 35 rotates more rapidly than the scale ii, due to a more rapid consumption of fuel, then the needle 35 will indicate on the scale ii a lesser efliciency-a lesser number of miles, for example, covered per unit of fuel consumed. Likewise, it will h noted that the color arcs i2, E3 on scale ii would enable one to tell a glance whether th needle 35 i in the good range of between 50% and efficiency as in Figs, 2 and 3 or in the bad red region E2 of scale i l, which is the region between fifty per cent and zero efficiency, indicating that the motor is consuming a greater than normal amount of fuel due to some condition which should be promptly remedied. The fuel hub 26 may have fixed thereto a fuel quantity pointer 25 movable across a fixed scale 32 marked with numbers of unit-of-fuel in the tank noted by the position of point 25 between E and F markings as shown in Fig.3.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the measuring instrument of my invention provides a continuously visible means for determining engine fuel efficiency, without reference to charts or graphs. The instrument continuously operates during the operation of th engine with which it is associated and does not require resetting at all, unless it is desired to reset the same after the cause of engine inefficiency has been corrected, for example.

The term normal in the specification refers to predetermined or selected standard conditions relative to which the scale II is calibrated for a given period of operation. As conditions of op eration vary, it is not intended to imply that merely operating an indicator dial by a constant speed device would produce the continuous normal operating characteristics of an engine under all conditions.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A measuring instrument for measurement of actual against predicted normal fuel consumption of a motor for different periods of operation of the motor, comprising a rotatable scale, means for driving said scale at constant speed based on time intervals of motor operation, calibration markings thereon for indicating the said predicted normal rate of fuel consumption of the motor, a needle mounted on a shaft coaxial with the axis of rotation of said scale and movable responsive to the fuel consumption of the engine 6 for said time intervals of its operation, both the scale and needle being movable in the same direction, relative movement between the scale and needle in the same direction being indicative of deviation free from the predicted normal rate.

2. In a measuring instrument as set forth in claim 1, an electromagnet axially aligned with the needle shaft, and clutching mean interposed axially intermediate the said shaft and electromagnet for moving said needle axially away from the electromagnet and to an inoperative position when the electromagnet is not energized.

3. In a measuring instrument as set forth in claim 1, means urging said needle in on axial direction to an inoperative position and electromagnetic means for moving said needle in opposite axial direction to an operative position responsive to and during periods of operation of said motor.

4. In a measuring instrument as set forth in claim 1, balance coils electrically connected to the fuel reservoir to set up an electrical field on changes in the level of fuel in said reservoir, a hub frictionally connected to said needle shaft, said hub being axially rotatably disposed centrally of the balance coils so as to be rotated thereby responsive to such changes.

5. In a measuring instrument as set forth in claim 1, said means for driving said movable scale including an electric clock mechanism connected to the motor operating electrical circuit and thereby energized only on operation of said motor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,914,946 Glick June 20, 1933 2,505,237 Dwyer Apr. 25, 1950

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